US: Senator Klobuchar to join Democratic presidential race

Klobuchar, 58, now in her third six-year term as a senator for Minnesota, will seek to position herself as a contrast to Trump, who is expected to be the Republican candidate in the November 2020 election, reported Reuters.

“I’m asking you to join us on this campaign. It’s a homegrown one. I don’t have a political machine. I don’t come from money. But what I do have is this. I have grit. I have family. I have friends,” Klobuchar said in prepared remarks for a rally Sunday afternoon in Minnesota.

Last week  Klobuchar reintroduced two antitrust bills whose co-sponsors include Senators Ed Markey (Dem-Massachusetts), Richard Blumenthal (Dem-Connecticut), Dick Durbin (Dem-Illinois) and another presidential hopeful, Corey Booker (Dem-New Jersey).

The Consolidation Prevention and Competition Promotion Act of 2019 would, among many other things, include revising the Clayton Act to eliminate the trigger that a merger must “substantially” lessen competition to “clarify that the Clayton Act prohibits mergers that, as a result of consolidation, may materially lower quality, reduce choice, reduce innovation, exclude competitors, increase entry barriers, or increase price.”

The Merger Enforcement Improvement Act would, likewise among many other things, require merged parties to submit to the Federal Trade Commission or Justice Department, whichever vetted the deal, data that would allow them to assess the impact of the merger, including pricing of service, the cost-saving benefits claimed in the merger, and the effectiveness of any divestitures.